If HB 726—the bill designed to redefine child abuse in Pennsylvania—is signed, it will be the first of more than a dozen bills expected to be signed into law that came out of the evaluation following the arrest of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of 45 charges of abusing ten boys.

When journalists report that a man was arrested and charged with domestic violence, it sounds far less menacing than reporting that he was arrested for beating his partner bloody or punching her until she lost consciousness.

Three months have passed since Swarthmore College introduced a centralized sexual assault and harassment reporting system, meant to rectify the many issues exposed in two federal complaints alleging the school has mishandled sexual assault cases on campus. But not everyone is happy with the new system.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s renewed push comes on the heels of a new poll reporting that six in ten Americans support letting independent prosecutors, rather than the chain of command, decide whether to prosecute cases of sexual assault and other serious non-military crimes.

A case in Wisconsin further illustrates the recent trend of states policing pregnant women in the name of fetal rights, and it would appear the U.S. Catholic bishops had a role in the federal government shutdown.

Swarthmore is among a number of colleges and universities that are being investigated by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights for violating Title IX by creating a “hostile environment” and discouraging students from reporting or pursuing disciplinary action against sexual misconduct.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) today, the final day of Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month. So what’s at stake for youth?